Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Antidote to being pulled down by the 2016 political campaigns: Reach out!

Last year a friend asked me whether I knew of any volunteer opportunities in the East Bay, a question that I was delighted to hear! I compiled a list for her of some of the opportunities of which I was aware, sent it to her, and planned to post it here, but never got around to it. Then a couple of weeks ago this same topic came up in conversation with another friend, and I promised to send my list from last year...but of course, when I took a look at the list, I figured it could be improved upon, so I spent an afternoon -- interestingly enough, it was an afternoon when I was supposed to go to a Volunteer Appreciation Party -- revising and updating the list*. And here it is:

Elizabeth House Provides services and shelter to women in difficult situations... (located next to St Augustine's in what I think is the former convent.) There are a variety of opportunities here.

Night on the Streets Catholic Worker -- lots of services (click here for a comprehensive list) for the neediest residents of the East Bay, especially around Berkeley. [I have worked with the Sunday morning breakfast for the homeless (starts at 7:15 am in People's Park every Sunday) and the soup and hot chocolate delivery which happens several nights each week in the winter months. Contact JC Orton (info at link above) to get involved, or just show up on Sunday morning :-) ]

Oakland Catholic Worker -- primarily serving the migrant community -- opportunities to tutor English and work with the clients in other ways and I don't know what all else-- they always need people to help!

Planting Justice-- urban farming resource, food justice, etc., also teaches permaculture skills to local prisoners with the goal of hiring them when they are released and volunteers teach high school students about gardening and food justice issues... a very interesting grassroots group

St. Anthony Foundation in SF has a variety of ministries (meals, clothing, employment counseling, etc.) that always need volunteers.

This organization holds workshops every few months, usually on a Saturday (but sometimes on Sunday) where people who are trying to become naturalized citizens can come and get help filling out their paperwork, talk to a lawyer, etc. [I really enjoyed helping out at this.]

Bay Area Literacy looks like a great program -- I volunteered in a similar program in Charlotte, NC, and enjoyed the work very much. (And I'm thinking this might be a good place for me to plug in to help someone with GED prep -- I promised a friend I would do this so I'd better make good on my promise...)

Also, here are some websites that have volunteer opportunities databases or lists: